Three Things I'd Like to Have

There are, as you can imagine, a great deal more than three things I'd like to have but these are the three I'm thinking of right now.

Doesn't she kind of look like Donna?

1.  Warby Parker glasses.  
I love companies that make it a part of their business to make the world a better place.  And Warby Parker is one of those treasures; they donate a pair of glasses for every pair purchased.  They have a delicious selection of frames AND they send out some for you to try on at home before you make a decision.

2.  An upright piano
I'll confess it here: I have a keyboard.  A Yamaha P-80 that I've had since 2002.  That I absolutely and completely adore.  But, I'd really, truly love to have an old upright piano for my 2-year-old and me to bang around on.  I know grand pianos are so much fancier but I love that kind of jangly, warm upright piano sound.

3.  This hair clip
Although I have yet to be up in a hot air balloon, I find them so completely appealing.  And whenever I see them I think of it being a sign for something great.  "Oh, there's an ad for such-and-such with a HOT AIR BALLOON!  It's a sign."  And this hair clip from Square Peg Meg is oh-so-nice and I think whenever I wear it, I'd have a lucky day.

What are three things you'd like to have?

Concerto in F

So this week's podcast focused on music from a piano and I can't think of piano without thinking of the brilliant Oscar Levant.  Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration as I think of pianos a LOT and Oscar only often.  But you know what I mean.  


In An American in Paris, my favorite scenes (beside the Gene Kelly and the kids scene) are the Oscar Levant scenes - the This Time It's Really Love, By Strauss and this one, Concerto in F.  If you've read other entries by me and even the occasional interview, you know I have a weakness for Gene Kelly so the fact that my favorite scenes in a movie with him are the ones with Oscar Levant is pretty telling. George Gershwin was once asked who played his music the best and he said "Oscar Levant."  Well, click on the pic (the post-er didn't allow embedding) and you see!


I especially love the part in the music at 2:35 and where the Oscar Levant audience member shows his appreciation of the performance - hilarious!

Paris at Seven... Song Sketch

Image from here

I recently sent a bunch of songs over to a film professor to see if any of his students or coworkers needed a composer/songwriter for any of their projects (hopefully a John Lasseter or Pete Docter in the mix!).

This is one I wrote for the reel - I adore accordion and think it belongs in far more music! This song made me think of busy rainy evenings, which we've been so lucky to have several of the last couple days. Such a welcome break from the endless Florida heat!

If you would like a copy of this song for you, just let me know in a comment! If it's your first request, please leave your email address as well.

Feel free to follow me! I promise only ever to lead you to bright, sunny places!

P.P.S. I have a brand, new original album out! If youdownload it and looooove it, please write a lovely review on the site from which you purchased it!

P-I-A-N-O oh oh! Lesson Three

I know that there are plenty of marvelous musicians who read my blog but for those who are not as familiar with music, here are some quick facts and history about the very best instrument in the whole universe.

1. The piano gets its name from "pianoforte" - piano being interpreted as "soft"* and forte meaning "loud." This is because the piano was far more responsive to the touch of players versus the harpsichord or clavichord (which were the common keyboards at that time).

2. George Michael owns the piano on which John Lennon wrote the song Imagine.

3. The piano is a mishmash of an instrument: you strike a key which activates a hammer (making the piano a percussion instrument) which then strikes a string that vibrates and creates the sound (making the piano, in a way, a stringed instrument).

4. You know those pedals under the piano? Well, the most commonly used one is the one on the far right called the sustain or damper pedal. What it does is allows the strings of the piano to continue vibrating after they've been touched, sustaining the notes. This gives that romantic, more reverb-y sound.

My favorite thing about pianos has to be its versatility of sound- it can be romantic and elegant or Jerry Lee Lewis rock n' roll! It's also one of the few instruments that can really stand on its own.

I know I barely touched the marvelousness that is a piano. So if you have any questions, just let me know! And tell me what you love about pianos!

*Piano actually doesn't mean "soft" even though that's what it means now in music. At the time, it meant "on a plane or level" which would be "normal" sound. So a "pianoforte" could play both normally and loudly.

Men With Halos

Whenever I find an actor, singer or comedian who can also play an instrument, there is an extra halo of awesomeness that surrounds them. I know that being one of those aforementioned entertainers requires talent and often training but playing an instrument? I don't know - it's the marshmallows on the talent hot cocoa. It's the cherry on the talent sundae. It's the halo around the talent angels.

Here are several extra-talented leading men with those halos.

Thanks to sallywally at flyingdowntohollywood blog for showing me this one on Twitter today!

My favorite part begins at 2:46

A New Resolve

As you all know, the date is currently September 4. Therefore I've decided to get started on some of my New Year's resolutions. One resolution I have in particular - I made a goal to have three songs learned and memorized by the end of the year, Fantasie Impromptu by Chopin, Impromptu Number 4 in A flat Major by Schubert and Maple Leaf Rag by Joplin. So, I'm going to apply myself, slaving at the piano until my eyes blur from the tiny notes and my tea grows cold with neglect.

My first song will be Schubert's Impromptu. Confession: I actually began working on it once I decided to blog about it so I have a bit of a head start (although not the head start I would have had if I had started in January). I shall try to think of some creative way to let you know that I have held to my end of the bargain and am learning/memorizing the songs I said I would (even if they are faster and more heavily pedaled than the originals).

Any New Year's Resolutions you are going to revisit with the crispness of Fall to energize you? And if you have an idea of how I can prove that I've mastered the new songs, feel free to suggest.

Welcome Back!

Welcome to my new and improving blog! You will soon be privy to the marvelous inner-workings of my mind and, in return, I want to know the marvelous inner-workings of yours as well. Many people come up to me after shows (millions, perhaps) that say "I'm not a musician, I just love music."

To that I say, without music lovers (be they musicians or not) music is the proverbial tree in the forest- is it really music if it doesn't entertain/irritate/illumine/titillate?

So leave comments and feel free to email me if you have a specific question of something you want to know about songwriting, music, etc. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Fun Piano Clip...

I find that lyrics are much more difficult to write than music so for every one complete song, I have about five tunes without words. Or with just a phrase I like. Or with most of the words but just not enough to have the song be finished.

Alas.

So, some of the songs I just record as instrumentals only like this little piano clip. Enjoy!

I Love A Piano...

My songwriting is very influenced by the songwriters that all emerged in a similar era- Cole Porter, the Gershwins, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, etc. My piano-style, therefore, has to corollate... As I took a break from trying to record a rough of a brand new song with a complicated stride pattern, I daydreamed about pianists whose piano talents I would love to have:

Harry Connick, Jr.

Many know him as a crooner or leading man, but his first claim was New Orleans piano style. The thing that amazes me about him is his casual touch of the keys, like he's so familiar with every sound of every note, he can play breathtaking piano in the same offhand manner in which we hum while we do the dishes. Check him out playing Sweet Georgia Brown. I love what he does around 1:40. Crazy.

Randy Newman:

His playing is soulful and rich- who needs a backup orchestra when you can play like that? I couldn't really find a song of his on YouTube that did his piano style justice but his Randy Newman Songbook V1 is all just his voice and the piano. I Think It's Going to Rain Today is heartbreaking in the best possible way.

Dave Brubeck: Under his amazing (and quite large) hands, the piano becomes something wild and unpredictable- it can be playful and flirtatious or heavy and percussive. I've attempted arrangements of his and I think I need to add a couple fingers.

Love his Three To Get Ready. Unsquare Dance is delicious too but it actually has relatively little piano.

Thelonious Monk: Monk is to piano what da Vinci is to art, what Pixar is to animation, what Bobby Flay is to grilling. This song is pure joy,

Could You Coo?

I'm performing at a very posh show in May at the Winter Park University Club and the organizer wanted me to play some old jazz standards. One of my very favorite composers ever is Gershwin- his music always reminds me why I have to be a musician (no matter the impracticality of the job). I recorded a rough little chorus from one of my favorites of his, I've Got A Crush On You, on my GarageBand.

Tell me what you think!

Recording!

I'm working on pre-recording some songs for the next album... I've got a pretty sweeeet setup- a Blue Snowball USB microphone, my trusty Yamaha and my Apple.

Not to mention my lucky red mug filled with Bengal Spice herb tea.

Although I guess I just did mention it.

Hooray for the New Year!

 

Hello all!

I hope you and your family had a wonderful holiday!  I truly enjoyed mine but am now (like many others, I'm sure) happy to begin a brand new year.  So, I wanted to wish you and your loved ones a prosperous, music-filled and delightful 2009! 

 

My music videos are up on YouTube!  Visit my page (http://youtube.com/iamemmamusic) and make kind comments and high ratings!  While you're there, check out Vespersaw's channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/vespersaw); she has posted several fan videos.  If you're a YouTube account holder, you can even subscribe to the channel and be alerted the instant a new video is posted.  Whew!

 

I'd love more friends!  If you are a MySpacer or Facebooker, be sure to look me up and, if you invite me as a friend, I promise I will cordially and graciously accept.   

 

Lastly (but not leastly, of course) I want to extend my appreciation to you for your support throughout 2008!  The only way that I am able to thrive as an indie musician is by your word of mouth, by you buying cds to give to friends and by your attendance at my shows through the year.  

 

Thank you tons and tons!

 

 

 

Summer arrives (although, if you live in Florida, it came around two months ago)!

First off, I want to thank everyone who came out to my May shows!  They were successful, more fun than words can describe and I am duly grateful.  

AAAaaand, I have been voted as one of Axis Magazine's 20 Coolest People in Orlando.

I kid you not.

Hooray! 

So you can read the interview of me at http://www.axismag.com (I'm on page 28) or pick it up at select locations (comment if you want to know where).  

I also have several enlightening shows this month so please take a break from beaches, barbecues and TVLand reruns to come by!

Thursday, June 19, from 7 - 9 p.m., I'm playing at Urban Think for Third Thursday.  For those who may not be familiar with Third Thursday, it's a monthly celebration of art in Orlando partaken by art venues from the Orlando Museum of Art to independent galleries.  There's wine, there's witty conversation and, this Thursday at least, there's me!  

Friday, June 27, 7:30-8:30 p.m., I'm back at my favorite haunt, Infusion Tea (1600 Edgewater Dr., Orlando, FL 32803).  They have iced tea too (and air conditioning), so don't let the sultry weather dissuade you.

Saturday, June 28, 11 - 2 p.m., I'm playing at the Winter Park Chamberlin's for a Health Fair!  How fun is THAT?!

Last of all, one of my fan vids (featuring Nick and Nora) on YouTube has had over one thousand views!  So, it must be good.  Check it out at http://youtube.com/watch?v=lVO4IcLuLLQ .  

I hope you have the very best June ever (so far!) and that I see you/hear from you soon.

Emma

iTunes... I've arrived!

Is this a day of joy and excitement or what? Not only is it the day that the Beatles were on the cover of Time magazine and the second day of autumn, but my CD is now completely available to everyone no matter what their preference for purchase is! Download? Oui! At iTunes! Hard copy? Oui! At www.iamemma.com (available via PayPal for both credit card and bank account).
So, buy my CD and let me know what you think! And, if you like the CD, please write a review on iTunes. But only if you like it, of course.. :)

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!

Received my CDs yesterday...
Danced throughout the house like a very happy maniac...
Look forward to doing it again (and for even longer) when my CDs start to sell by the millions...
Shall probably neverdance in a music video - if I know what's good for me, that is...

Tomorrow my music is available for download from Digstation.com. I still need to send in the info to CDBaby before I will be able to sell my music on iTunes and CDBaby. So, I'm going to work on that tomorrow. I'm also thinking of putting my music on Amazon as well as ebay. I'll also be calling all local cd stores and such to see how interested in indie artists they are... But I can hardly wait to get my music out there!

Oh, the excitement!

I have hopped through all the preliminary hoops to having my first (debut!) CD finished. I've approved the artwork, the master and they're going through with the duplication. It's unbelievably exciting. You know how when you've dreamed of something so long and so hard, it's almost difficult to realize you're getting it. So, three cheers and a rah! I have the CD release party scheduled for September 8 from 7 - 9 at Infusion Tea.

Welcome to my world of blog!

Hello! I am Emma - an independent musician gearing up for her first full-length album release. I describe my style as "indie jazz" because I want jazz purists to know that I'm aware that my music isn't really jazz. But it's jazz-inspired... does that count? I play piano and sing - you can hear some of my very early songs at www.iamemma.com. Feel free to listen and comment and give me wise advice about making a career in the music industry.